The norris peters co



No. 622374. Patented Mar. 2a, |899.v T. w. wAnD & H. w. LAsH.

APPARATUS FUR BREAKING STEEL RAILS, BILLETS, GLC.

(Application led Dec. 10, 1897.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

\ Nv EN ToRs T,W.vvf\ Rn s( HWLAS H BY' TH El R ATTORNEYS.

Ptrtns co., Pucuurnn., WASHING-rou. u. c.

No. 622,174. Patented mar. 2s, |899.

T. W. WARD &. H. W. LASH.

APPARATUS FUHBBEAKING STEEL RAILS, BILLETS, 8m.

(Application led Dec. 10, 1897.)

(No Nudel.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WWNESSE 5= WVNTORS TWWARD @CHW/.MSH

JW wmwgm THEIRVWTORNEYS.

No.7622,|74. Patented Mar. 2a, |899.

- T. w. wAnn e. H. w. LAsH. APPARATUS FDR BREAKINGv STEEL RAILS,BILLETS, 81.0.

(Application tiled Dec. l0, 1897.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

w mm Tw.

UH m.. mm

THER HTVORNEY- Nonms PErzns co.. PMoTo-Llmo.. wAsnmefoN, n. c.

NTTED STATES PATENT GFFICE..

THOMAS W.- VARD AND IIORATIO WV. LASH, OF SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR BREAKING STEEL RAILS, BILLETS, Sao.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 622,174, dated March28, 1899. Application tiled December 10, 1897. Serial No. 661,375. (Nomodel.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that we, THOMAS TVILLIAM WARD, iron merchant, residing atFitzalen Chambers, and HoRATIo WILLIAM LAsH, draftsman, residing atAlbion Works, Sheffield, in the county of York, England, subjects of theQueen of Great Britain and Ireland, have invented certain ImprovedMachines or Apparatus for Breaking Steel Rails, Billets, or other LikeArticles, (for which we have obtained apatent in Great Britain, No.22,829, dated November 24, 1894,) of which the following is aspecification.

The object of this invention is to provide apparatus by means of whichsteel rails, billets, or other similar articles can be broken with greatfacility and rapidity.

The apparatus consists of a bed-plate provided with bearings and guidesfor supporting a screw-nut and gear for rotating it from any suitablesource of power and for supporting a sliding head carried by a screwworking in the said screw-nut, so that when by the said gear thescrew-nut is rotated'in one direction the sliding head is moved forwardto break a billet or the like, and when the said screw-nut is rotated inthe other direction the said sliding piece is moved back again. Themachine is provided with a reversing-gear by means of which the reversalof the movement of the screw-nut is effected. The machine can bearranged with sliding heads at each end of the screw,with an abutmentfor each, so that each stroke of the apparatus exerts a breaking effectalternately on opposite sides of the machine. The rail or other articleto be broken is fed transversely in front of the moving head, thefoundation-plate being provided with a projection or with projections toactas the abutment for the rail or other article when the pressure ofthe sliding head comes upon it, there being a space in the projection orbetween the projections, opposite the sliding head, to allow thebreaking action to take effect.

In order that our invention may be clearly understood, we will describe,with reference to the accompanying drawin gs, apparatus constructedaccording to our invention, premislng, however, that we do not restrictourselves to the precise details of construction illustrated anddescribed.

Figures l and 2 are elevations at right angles to each other, and Fig. 3a plan, of a single-acting apparatus, and Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are similarviews of a double-acting apparatus, constructed according to ourinvention for breaking steel rails, billets, and other like articles.

The bed-plate A is preferably provided with rollers B to facilitate themovement of the rails or other articles to be broken in the machine. Thebed-plate is preferably cast in iron or steel, with the pedestals C,guideways D for the sliding head E, and the abutments F or the partswhich carry them cast in one therewith.

G is a screw-nut which is mounted so that it can be rotated, but willnot move lengthwise in a bearing H, preferably cast in one with thebed-plate, and movement of rotation is imparted to the said nut from thefirst-motion shaft I, preferably by a small pinion K thereon gearingwith a large tooth-wheel L on a counter-shaft M, carrying a pinion N ingear with va toothed wheel O, fast on the screw-nut G.

To the head Eis connected a screw P, which works in the nut G, so thatby the rotation of the nut in one direction the screw and the slidinghead are caused to move forward and exert breaking pressure on thearticle placed between th'e said head and the abutments F. The motionwhich is'thus transmitted to the hollow screw-nut and the sliding headcan be reversed by any suitable means-such, for example, as is used onplaning-machines. A convenient arrangement, however, for thepurposeconsists of a double cone Q Q,screwed on the shaft I, so as torotate therewith,but capable of longitudinal movement thereon by aclutch-shifter R, so that by moving the said double cone in onedirection a pulley S, with an open belt, is engaged, and bymoving thecone in the opposite direction a pulley S2, with a crossed belt, isengaged, and thus the gear is reversed to rotate the screw-nut G firstin one direction and then in the other direction to move-the screw P andsliding head, so as to exert the breaking pressure, and then to retirefor the next breaking action. The oulleys S S2 are preferably soproportioned that the return motion is quicker than the motion to effectthe breaking.

The movement of the clutch R to effect the reversals can be effected bya spring-arm or projection T, carried by the screw P, so that itaetsupon projections aon the clutch-shifter to move it in one direction whenthe screw approaches one end of its movement and to move it in the otherdirection when the screw approaches the other end of its movement- Theprojections thus acted upon may be adjustable, so as to Vary the lengthof travel of the breakin g-head. The clutch-shifteris also provided withan attachment U, which may be arranged to be operated by the hand or bythe foot of the operator for working the said clutch-shifter, and thiswill serve also for starting and stopping the machine.

\V hen the machine is arranged as a doubleaeting machine withbreaking-heads at each end of the screw-as shown, for example, in Figs.4, 5, and G-the under side of the bedplate A can be provided withbearings C for the gear-wheels N and L, which drive the serew-nut Gthrough the wheel O, and the gear can be driven by means of an overheadshaft iitted with the clutch and pulleys, as aforesaid, and driving thescrew-nut G by means of belt-pulleys, which can be on a hollow shaftover and loose on the outside of the screw-nut, as shown, or at the sideof such n ut or between two such nuts on the screw P,

which works through the screw nut or nuts, gear-wheels conveyingmovement from the said pulleys to the screw nut or nuts.

The machine may be arranged to act upon straight or curved articles bysuitably shaping the parts on which the articles are mounted. It may beused then for breaking, for exam ple, old railway-ties or other circularor curved articles, as Well as straight articles, such as rails or thelike.

Having now particularlydescribed and ascertained the natu re of oursaidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declarethat what we claim is- An apparatus forbreakin g rails and the like,having a rotatable screwed nut, a screwed rod working in the said nut,means carried by the rod to effect, in conjunction with stationaryabutments, the breaking of the rail, in combination with means securedto the screw adapted to engage with the clutch-shifter to automaticallyreverse the movement of the screwed rod to cause the said rod to move ineither direction, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOS. W. WARD. H. W. LASII'. \Vitn esses:

JOHN GEORGE Asn, WILLIAM IRvING.

